Ephemeral Nocturne

Howler Monkeys!?

Picking up where we left off…

After defeating the bandits, we took their identification papers (just in case someone was looking for them) and all their valuables. Inspecting the wagon tracks that lead us to the ambush site, we found them to be cunningly faked. Those sneaky bandits!

After two more days of travel, we arrived in the vicinity of Nustok. We first checked the farm of Lars, whose sheep we had been instructed to protect…we could find nothing but a note warning one of Lars’s sons to head to the chapel in town.

Following the note’s instructions, we found the town utterly lifeless but for a column of smoke rising from the center. As we headed in, the birdcage began to emit a loud chirping; we were suddenly assaulted by a small pack of goblins! Killing all but one of them, we interrogated the survivor for information (specifically, that the goblins had congregated outside the chapel) and let him go on the hopes that he’d be grateful enough not to kill us.

Fighting our way through the streets, we reached the chapel just as the sun began to set. In an intense battle, and with the help of the chapel’s attendant priest, a pair of children, and a shifter later identifying himself as Cavern, we were able to slaughter each of the goblins (save for a shaman who booked it at the first sign of trouble).

Entering the chapel, we met the priest, Brother Vitali, who appraised us of the situation: Goblins had overrun the town, killing the Imperial Guard, an adventurer, and most of the other inhabitants. The only survivors were those who had assisted in the fight and a severely wounded elf by the name of Valia rey Silverhawk. Brother Vitali suggested that in the morning, we should escort her (and the others) to the nearest elven settlement for safety; naturally, we agreed. After bringing in the nearest semi-functional cart, we went to sleep.

Just before dawn, we were awakened by the sound of a commotion outside the chapel doors; peering out the slits, we saw that a small army of goblins had congregated there, hungry for blood (or flesh, we didn’t inquire which). Accompanying them was the shaman we had met earlier, as well as an extremely large goblin who presumably lead the tribe.

After hiding the priest, the children, and the elf (much to her displeasure) in the chapel undercroft, we stepped outside, eventually dispatching the goblins with but a single person falling unconscious.

Pulling the thankful noncombatants from the cellar, we began preparations to head to the elven settlement, finishing repairs on the cart and looting the remains of the goblins, we were given several magical gifts by Brother Vitali, including a compendium of known magical items. Finally, we can actually figure out what we’re carrying!

And so it begins...

As our story began, we found ourselves on a narrow ledge overlooking a large, very deep pit; this was explained to us as “part of the portal system.” At the instructions of the government-appointed guide, we joined hands and jumped. And that was when the oddities started.

Rather than arriving safely in Novgorod as promised, we found ourselves separated and tossed into a vast, empty graveyard, filled with statues, decorative ponds, and the like. After locating one another, we found ourselves at the edge of a reflecting pool; touching its surface, we were pulled back to the void between worlds.

Subsequently, we found ourselves dropped into a room, filled with ankle-deep water, and experienced changes of form. Across the room from us were blank-faced doppelgangers, precise duplicates of our human forms; behind them, a looming statue of some alien god, terrifying to behold. The duplicates subsequently turned hostile and were defeated, dissolving into swirls of dark ink in the waters at our feet.

As soon as the last of them perished, we were cast once again into a void, this time to reappear in a random farmer’s field outside Novgorod. We arrived just in time for the Imperial Guard to show up, at which point we were escorted to the seat of government in Novgorod to meet with Vasily Stukov. After attempting to explain the portal malfunction, we were forwarded to the Hall of Companies, as we looked to be “adventuring types.”

After a lengthy registration process, the newly formed Avenger Company rented several rooms at the Golden Gate Inn, but found their doors to (temporarily) lead to blinding white rooms with threatening messages scribed on the walls.

Later that night, the company received a package from an unknown source; it contained an intensely magical birdcage in which was perched the skeleton of a small songbird. It resisted all attempts at identification, and a researcher at the Mages’ College was likewise unable to ascertain its origin or purpose.

Returning to the inn for the night, we were startled to hear birdsong emanating from the enchanted birdcage. Just as we reached our rooms, a burglar burst out of the door and sprinted down the hallway, leaping out a window. Following, we found the window to open fifty feet above the river, and glimpsed a dark blot in the water, as though ink had been spilled.

The following morning, we set out to find ourselves a proper headquarters. Eventually, we managed to track down a shabby shack in the Azure District, slightly refurbished the place for security, and listed it as our mailing address at the Hall of Companies. Checking back at the Golden Gate one more time, we found that we had been given our first assignment: see to the protection of a Nustok farmer’s sheep.

Renting horses, we immediately set off on the 5-day journey. Halfway there, near a crossroads, we noticed that the tracks from a wagon abruptly veered off the road, and stopped to investigate. Bad move: we were ambushed by a rather nasty party of thieves, apparently the same who had run the wagon down. Fortunately, we were able to dispatch them without too much trouble, although we did fail to take any prisoners.

A blog for your campaign

While the wiki is great for organizing your campaign world, it’s not the best way to chronicle your adventures. For that purpose, you need a blog!

The Adventure Log will allow you to chronologically order the happenings of your campaign. It serves as the record of what has passed. After each gaming session, come to the Adventure Log and write up what happened. In time, it will grow into a great story!

Best of all, each Adventure Log post is also a wiki page! You can link back and forth with your wiki, characters, and so forth as you wish.

One final tip: Before you jump in and try to write up the entire history for your campaign, take a deep breath. Rather than spending days writing and getting exhausted, I would suggest writing a quick “Story So Far” with only a summary. Then, get back to gaming! Grow your Adventure Log over time, rather than all at once.